Developing World Focus

Why Study in Asia?

The Benefits of Increased Understanding

By Joan A. Raducha

Ancient images of Asia in the western world depended on the observations of a few travelers who frequently did not understand what they were seeing. Their western preconceptions blinded them. What they "saw" and the tales they told often took on super-normal proportions.

Today, many thousands of people visit Asia every year: business travelers, tourists, and expatriates returning home for a visit are found on every plane headed to and from Asia. What they see and what they understand still depends on the nature of their preparation and the purpose and duration of their visit. It depends even more, however, on their motivation to understand the cultural and historical complexities of " Asia" and its diverse peoples on Asian terms.

U.S. college students have a growing number of opportunities to explore and study in Asia as part of their degree programs. Of the approximately 75,000 students who study abroad each year, the number selecting an Asian country as a destination is slowly growing. Most come from majors in the humanities and social sciences, but Asia also attracts students from the sciences, health fields, education, the fine arts, business, engineering, and environmental studies. Some, understandably, are students with Asian-American backgrounds seeking to understand their family cultural heritage. Most aren't.

All discover that living and learning in Asia adds a stimulating dimension to their degree program and a valuable investment in their career. Few return without a sense of fulfillment and self- confidence born from the experience of having actually lived there. Students who have studied in Asia have gone into business, public policy, and development work; they have become doctors, film-makers, lawyers, professors, teachers, and more. Some return to Asia; others may not. But one thing is certain: they are better citizens because of their increased understanding of Asia and the world.

Asia is the home of about one half of the world's population. It has been a source of important social, scientific, and cultural ideas and forces for centuries, many of which have influenced Western thinking. But Asia's rich past is only a background to its contemporary importance in the new world order. Interdependence is simply a fact of life. Business and industry in both the East and West seek workers who understand the needs and potential of more than their native hemisphere and immediate environment. In economic terms alone, the complex of Pacific Rim nations comprise by far the world's largest market and supplier of goods.

Studying in Asia, learning through first-hand experience, is the way for someone from a "westernized" cultural heritage to learn not only about "Eastern" cultural traditions, but to comprehend the place of the East in the globalized future.

Which "Asia"?

The geographical, historical, socio-economic, and cultural diversities of Asia are truly staggering. Each country offers layers of history to explore, often mingled with that of its small and large neighbors. This shared "Asian" history is today evident in the multi-cultural populations of most nations. Within a single country, such as Indonesia, one finds remnants of ancient jungle cultures, farming and fishing economies which time has left unchanged for centuries. But, one also finds modern industry and commerce, andsocial lifestyles among the most affluent and sophisticated on earth.

Relatively tiny islands like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan have recently moved from " Third World" status to become economic giants. Japan's emergence as a world power in trade, manufacturing, and technology has been accomplished with few natural resources of its own. Just as there is widespread natural beauty in the paddy fields, high mountains, and beautiful seas that characterize many Asian regions, in others industrial pollution is a hard fact of life. Yet each country and region has something unusual to offer western eyes.

Program Opportunities

Programs exist in almost every Asian country; some have existed for decades; some are quite new. You can live in a rural "Third World" village or, at the other extreme, in a sprawling modern metropolis (like Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong or Jakarta). Some programs offer the chance to do both.

The main program alternatives are:

Enrolling in a host institution to take classes alongside students from the host country.

Registering in a other host institution in a program for foreign students where some or all classes are offered in English. Knowing the language well enough to study in it expands your choices greatly, but some Asian institutions offer course work English. A side benefit is that you often get to know other matriculated students from around the world who are associated with the program.

Affiliation with a host institution, with supplementary courses taught specifically for program participants either by local faculty or by accompanying American faculty.

Independent programs set up by a U.S. university that make extensive use of local cultural and scholarly resources and may or may not have an American faculty director at the site.

In addition, many programs in Asia offer students the opportunity to conduct original field research on a host of topics.

Getting Started

See your college study abroad adviser to help you select an Asian program that fits your academic and personal goals.

Talk with your professors; many have spent time abroad themselves and may be familiar with a particular program or have advice about where to go and what to study.

Read as much as you can about the region to which you are planning to travel and take courses that focus on this region.

Unless this is impossible, study the language of the region before you go. If your college or a nearby institution doesn't offer the language you need, many colleges and universities teach Asian languages during the summer.

JOAN A. RADUCHA is Associate Dean, International Studies and director of International Academic Programs at the Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison.